On saturday night the "keypad is locked" message wouldn't go away so I did a battery pull. Ever since (and I've seen a few people on forums with similar problems) I've had 3 problems
1) The top left button (keypad lock) only locks the keypad it won't unlock it. The only way to unlock it is to insert it into a holster (an item I have never used before)
2) The alt and shift keys would work but you couldn't press another key ie full stops or capital letters.
3) the hangup button ie on/off button will only turn the blackberry off. Once the blackberry is off the only way to turn it back on is a battery pull.

Since then I have done the following

• downgraded to a previous version of the OS. This version only locked the keypad it didn't turn the screen off as well. with this version the top left button unlocked the keypad successfully. The other two problems however persisted
• I then totally restored the blackberry to factory settings. All three problems were present
• I have since upgraded it and put all my settings back. Problem number 2 seems to have resolved itself but the other two are still present. Surely this is software related? Any help appreciated

Have you exposed the blackberry to liquid or moisture? (Even a sweaty pocket and humid locker room has been reported to cause issues.) If you think this is a possiblity, remove the battery now and see blackberryfaq.com and the article on what to do if up get your blackberry wet.

I was in paris where it was very cold and occasionally raining but nothing unusual. I also don't remember dropping it. Do you think this is a hardware issue even though the lock button works to lock the keypad just not to unlock it?

ok. Lets say I leave it for a week to dry in optimum conditions (even though I know its not moisture....) and it still wasn't fixed what would be the next step?
When I downgraded to the previous system os when the top left button doesn't turn the screen off the button was working fine. How could that be moisture/hardware if the button works on some some os' but not others?

Right, but remember the FAQ was written a long time ago. However, the first 4 (very important) steps in the FAQ hold true for any model. If you do indeed have any water damage, continually putting the battery back in and testing will surely decrease your chances of anything successful.

You have multiple key/button issues. The function of the lock button has bee changed with later OS versions in some cases. I'm not taking the time to understand if that is what you are talking about with that button, but your first post was talking about problems with several buttons/keys.

The change in function I refer to is the lock button used to password lock the device. That is no longer with newer OS's. If your lock button just plain doesn't work, then it's broken, for whatever reason.Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

My lock button unlocks in the last OS but not the current one. It only locks in the current one (all this explained in my original post). Hope that clarifies things. I think I will semi permanently downgrade the OS tonight and then I won't need the holster to unlock the keypad. Thanks for all your replies. Hopefully a new OS being released will sort my blackberry

As far as the lock button, on 9700/5.0.0.714 pressing the lock button turns off the screen and locks the keyboard. Pressing the button again unlocks the keyboard and turns on the screen. It seems a stretch that an OS version would cause the button to do the one but not the other. And same with your issues with the alt and shift keys and the phone end call button. All these issues, especially together, sound to me like faulty buttons and not software bugs.

But if an OS downgrade fixes the issues for you then that's great, more power to you. Post an update when you have the chance.Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile